The Week That Was

Published 7:00 pm, Wednesday, November 29, 2006

These are just a few of my thoughts on what has transpired at the state and national level of sports during the past week.

A dedication…

…As some of you may or may not know, my grandmother was battling cancer. Sunday night, she lost her battle.

My lasting memory of her will be Thursday when my family and I gathered to exchanged Christmas gifts.

Earlier that day, we had a family photo taken of myself, my wife, mom, dad and brother.

When we presented it to her, despite all the pain, she smiled and gave us all a kiss.

It was the type of reaction we were hoping to get. And maybe for a moment it helped her forget about the illness.

That photo, along with many others, were in her room when she passed away. They were a reminder of how much she was loved by her family.

Today, she will be laid rest next to my grandfather, but I can rest assured knowing that shes in a better place without the pain of that horrible disease. So this ones for you, grandma, youll never be forgotten.

Lets go bowling…

…Tuesday afternoon, my brother gave me some great news when he informed me that Central Michigan University had accepted an invitation to the Motor City Bowl.

As a Central alum, I would be happy enough.

But considering I have season tickets to the Motor City Bowl, needless to say Im ecstatic.

The Chippewas havent been to a bowl since the Las Vegas Bowl in 1994.

On Dec. 26, theyll take on Middle Tennessee State, but their opponent is irrelevant.

That fact is that in three seasons Brian Kelly has delivered on what so many before him couldnt.

He restored the tradition at CMU.

Prior to this hire, I said he was the right guy for the job after leading Grand Valley State to a pair of national championships.

Kelly can coach, but more importantly, he can recruit.

Recently, Kelly has interviewed for openings at Michigan State and Iowa State. Central is working on a contract extension with Kelly, but athletic director Dave Heeke knows it will be difficult to keep his coach around much longer.

We want Brian to be our coach for a long time, and were doing everything we can to take care of that, said Heeke in an AP interview. But when you talk about big-budget programs, we arent going to be able to compete in terms of money or facilities, and thats just reality.

I too know that Kellys days at CMU will most likely be short, but for the time being Im going to enjoy the moment.

I only wish the Chippewas could have experienced this type of success when I was there.

Spartans get their man…

…The John L. Smith era at Michigan State was one of the worst in the storied tradition in Sparty Land.

Now, MSU officials are ready to bring in a man familiar with their program in former Cincinnati coach Mark Dantonio.

Dantonio was an assistant for the Spartans from 1995-2000, and later became the defensive coordinator with Ohio State where he helped the Buckeyes win a national title.

Defensive guys are generally known as no-nonsense types  and thats exactly the type of man MSU needs right now.

The Spartans need somebody who is going to come in and crack some heads. They need a guy who will do things his way and recruit player who will listen and respect him.

The only knock I see with Dantonio is his 18-17 record with Cincinnati from 2004-2006.

Dantonios hiring has been met with mostly positive feelings from Spartan fans Ive talked with, so I guess time will tell if he can turn the program around. As a Michigan fan, Im glad MSU didnt go with Brian Kelly.

Michigan falls to No. 3…

…Last week, Michigan fans were forced to cheer for Notre Dame.

Only a win for the Irish over Southern California could have kept the Wolverines locked into the No. 3 spot in the BCS standings.

Instead, Notre Dame put up little resistance against the Trojans, allowing USC to leap over Michigan.

I understand that Michigan was going to fall in the BCS rankings, but why would AP voters not vote the Wolverines No. 2?

They did after they lost to Ohio State, but dropped them after USC won.

Exactly what did Michigan do to warrant being dropped other than being idle? The Wolverines season is over, so I think their rating should remain the same in the polls.

I still believe Michigan is the No. 2 team in the country  and the only one capable of beating Ohio State on a neutral filed.

All I have to say is, Go UCLA!

Abandon Ship!

…That should have been the opening statement at Lions coach Rod Marinellis press conference on Monday.

Because theres nothing to salvage from this debacle.

Perhaps the final straw was the Thanksgiving Day horror show.

As I was watching the game with my dad, he said after the Lions raced out to a 10-0 lead on the Dolphins, Watch them not score again.

And sure enough they didnt, as Joey Harrington carved them up with three TD passes in a 27-10 victory for Miami.

It seems after all the complaining about Harrington that maybe he wasnt the problem.

As we all know, the problem is at the top with Matt Millen and ownership.

The other day someone asked me why the Lions arent motivated to improve like the Tigers were.

I told them the Lions dont have to improve because its the NFL.

The fact is, they have a beautiful 65,000 seat stadium that people are going to fill every Sunday.

Unlike baseball, football only has eight home games, so that drives up demand to see a game.

An NFL game is still an experience. So until the fans dwindle down to 20,000 plus, like they did at the Silverdome, nothing is going to change.

Big Ben = Big Bust…

…Former Piston Ben Wallace chased the money when he joined the Bulls as a free agent.

Really, who can blame him?

But as the old saying goes, Money cant buy happiness. And that holds true for Wallace.

Statistically, Wallace hasnt lived up to expectations, but its in the locker room where hes really struggled.